Author William Boyd has defended the six-figure sum he recieved from Land Rover to help write novella 'The Vanishing Game' which will be offered as free e-book on Amazon and Apple.

He told the Guardian that despite the payout he had "total liberty to invent but it would be nice if Land Rover was mentioned" and in the 17,000-word story the character, Alec Dunbar, drives a Land Rover Defender.

Boyd admitted he had "no idea how I'll be viewed" but added that he didn't "really care, to be honest".

"It was a most intriguing job to be asked to do. I would recommend it to any novelist, if they got the chance," he said. "Novelists have always written to commission, for example Charles Dickens. If I was approached to write a Batman movie I would assume it would have to feature Batman. There's really no difference in this case."

However, in The Times, Sam Jordison, co-founder of publishing house the Galley Beggar Press, has said he was "horrified" by the news.

"William Boyd has the right to earn money as he wants and I agree, to an extent, with his defence. He is not a hack writer, he is very good. And that's part of why it is so depressing."

Although some publishers have said they're less than impressed at the product placement, fellow authors have come out in defence of Boyd's decision.

Currently it is unclear if there was any paid-for product placement in Boyd's Bond novel, 'Solo', released last year.